Game board



Patented Aug. 12, 1941 UNITED 2,252,451 GAME BOARD Gharles A; Anderson, New Rochelle, N. Y., as- Signor to Gotham Pressed Steel Corporation,

Bronx, N. Y.

"Malawian February 16, 1940', SerialNo. 319,214 I 2 Claims.

My invention relates to game boards and has particular reference to game boards in which a spinning top is made to move over the surface of the board against movable targets.

My invention has for its object to provide a game board of a type outlined above in which a top is provided which can be set in rotation in any suitable manner and which can move over the surface of the board in a more or less irregular path from one end of the board to the other, a plurality of targets being provided on the board in the form of small objects, movably placed on the board and adapted to be knocked down by the top. The latter is provided with projections on its periphery for making its action on the targets more effective.

In one modification of my board I also provide hazards in the form of transverse partitions with openings for the top in order to hinder its passage from one compartment on the board to the next, different compartments being formed by the partitions, having different kinds of targets.

Another object of my invention is to provide a top which can be conveniently set in rotation by a cord wound on its body, the top having a central shaft on which the main body or disc is rotatively mounted so that the shaft can be held in a hand while the body is being spun by the cord.

My invention is more fully described in the accompanying specification and drawing in which- Fig. 1 is a top plan view of my game board;

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation of the same;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the top;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of a tee for supporting a ball;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a top plan view of a modified board; and

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the same.

My game board consists of an elongated base I which may be made of wood, paper board, metal or similar materials and is provided with a glass plate 2 on top in order to facilitate rotation of a spinning top on its surface. The base is surrounded on all sides with a wall 3 and has a bracket 4 at the rear with a slot 5 for supporting the stem of a spinning top 6. The latter is shown in its preferred form in Fig. 3 and consists of a central shaft 1 rotatively supporting a disc 6 with a hub 9 on which a cord II] can be wound. The disc rests on an enlargement or collar II on the shaft. The cord, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, has a handle l2 on the end for holding it in one hand, while a player uses his other hand for supporting the top in the slot 5 in the bracket 4. By pulling on the cord, the disc 6 is set in rapid rotation, which continues when the cord is unwound and the top is released. The lower end of the shaft is made blunt so that the top will move forward in a more or less irregular path. The central shaft rotates with the disc, being entrained by friction, but at a somewhat reduced rate of speed due to slippage.

The top can be set in rotation without the bracket 4 by holding the shaft in one hand while pulling on the cord with the other hand.

It is understood that any other suitable type of top can be also employed in my board, including the type with a spring spinning attachment and, also a top which can be spun by giving it a quick twist between fingers.

The front end of the board is slightly raised by means of pegs [3 so that the top will have a tendency to move toward the rear end of the board. The board is provided with transverse partitions l4 and I5 forming compartments I6 and IT. The partitions have openings or ports I8 and [9 for the passage of the top from one compartment into the other, the partitions with the openings forming hazards so as to make it more difficult for the top to reach the second and third compartments.

The first compartment where the top is started may be left without any targets for the top. The second compartment I6 is provided with several balls 20 supported on tees 2i from which the balls can be knocked off by the top. The latter for this purpose is provided with projections or corners 22 on its periphery. The tees, as shown in Fig. 4, may be made of elastic rubber and provided with concave depressions at the bottom so that they can be fastened to the surface of the base by suction. If desired, however, they may be permanently cemented to the surface, although it is preferred to use vacuum cup attachment so that their positions can be changed if desired.

The third compartment i! has markings 23 for indicating positions of miniature bowling pins 24, which can be knocked down by the top if the. latter passes through the partitions and reaches the third compartment.

A modified game board is shown in Figs. 6 and 7. Its base 25 is provided with a wall 26 and has markings 23 for the bowling pins 24, there being no other targets or hazards. The

base is inclined from the front to the rear and also from the right to the left by means of two short pegs 21 at the left front and right rear ends of the board, and one long peg at the right rear end.

It is understood that my game board may be further modified without departing from the spirit of my invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A game board with a top comprising an elongated base, a wall surrounding the base, transverse partitions on the base separating the base into three longitudinally arranged compartments, means at one end of the base to spin the top, the partitions having openings for the top, and tees in the middle compartment adapted to support balls, the last compartment having marked places for bowling pins, the openings in the last partition being of sufiicient size to admit the balls and the top to the bowling pins.

2. A game board with a top comprising an elongated base, a wall surrounding the base, transverse partitions on the base separating the base into three longitudinally arranged com partments, means at one end of the base to spin the top, the partitions having openings for the top, tees in the middle compartment adapted to support balls, and angular partitions in the corners of the middle compartment with openings for admitting the balls but not the top, the last compartment having marked places for bowling pins, the openings in the last partition being of sufiicient size to admit the balls and the top to the bowling pins.

CHARLES A. ANDERSON. 

